Along with having two Major League starting caliber catchers in Austin Barnes and Will Smith, the Los Angeles Dodgers boast plenty of talent at the position in the Minors as well, with Keibert Ruiz and Diego Cartaya leading the way.
Ruiz made his MLB debut last season and already has seen time in the big leagues this year, while Cartaya, still just 19 years old, is in the early stages of his professional career.
He entered the 2021 season as the Dodgers’ No. 4 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, and although his campaign was delayed due to injury, he has not missed a beat thus far.
Over his first eight games with Low-A Rancho Cucamonga, Cartaya is hitting a stellar .419/.486/1.000 with three doubles, five home runs and 11 RBI in 35 plate appearances.
Cartaya revealed he has been able to live up to the lofty expectations placed on him by tuning out the noise and having fun rather than focusing on prospect rankings, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group:
“Sometimes when you see what people say about you, and what they expect you to be, some people feel like they have pressure,” he said. “Like ‘I have to be good because of this, because they’re expecting me to be good.’ When you don’t know those things – of course you’ll hear them – you’ll just play. Just have fun. You don’t feel as much pressure.”
Even before beginning his professional career, Cartaya was regarded as one of the better prospects in all of Venezuela. He signed with the Dodgers in July 2019, and since then has steadily climbed up various prospect rankings.
Cartaya recently credited his early success to the Dodgers’ culture and becoming more comfortable in the United States.
Cartaya hits walk-off grand slam
Cartaya’s impressive first week for the Quakes culminated with a walk-off grand slam to finish a five-run rally in the ninth inning in front of a sold-out crowd at LoanMart Field.
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